The combination of paint tray and roller has been available for many years. Until relatively recently, the trays have been open four-sided receptacles usually of metallic material which could be attached to ladder rungs by hook-like extensions and which were typically horizontally oriented.
Recently, a modified design has been developed to enable the tray to assume a variety of different positions. The flat tray-like device has a receptacle area of generally L-shaped configuration. The tray may have a handle at the opposite end from the L-shaped receptacle area so that the device may be set upright with its longest dimension that would be formally perceived as the bottom, in fact, a side with ripples to allow paint to be rolled off the roller portion to avoid a drip path. This modified style paint tray device can be oriented horizontally so that the ripple portion is horizontal, as previous trays were typically oriented.
This style tray can be easily carried as the L-shaped portion has a side and two ends with enough depth to accommodate considerable paint yet to enable the device to be carried by its handle. This type of design greatly increases the portability of a paint tray making it easily carried about a job with its orientation at a variety of positions through a range of approximately 90 degrees.
While this improved type of tray has advantages over the earlier design where such tray could be used essentially only in one orientation, i.e. with the ripple structure horizontal, there are still a variety of shortcomings of such device.
One shortcoming is the inability to firmly secure a paint roller to the paint tray when such a roller is not in use.
As typically painting jobs require the intermittent but regular use of brushes in addition to a roller, it is also a disadvantage not to be able to accommodate paint brushes when not in use particularly if the paint tray is to be used on ladders and other somewhat inaccessible locations. In other words, it becomes a desire to have a holding place for brushes when a roller is in use and vice versa for a roller when a brush is in use.
Although rollers have been around for many years, and are routinely used in conjunction with brushes, there is no readily available structure where a brush can be attached to a paint tray when not in use in such a way that any drippings from the brush will be into the receptacle or tray and not over surrounding locations.
Although trays have accommodated rollers of ordinary size, there has been no tray particularly adaptable for use with trim painting. In other words, when a typical roller is used, there will be areas such as corners and edges and close proximity to abutments and other obstacles which calls for the use of brushes and smaller rollers specifically for such trim painting.